Want to Make the Sale? – Know EXACTLY how to Engage Your Client
It is a good bet that most companies can tell their own story and boast of their passionate commitment to their goods and services. However, many of these high-passion businesses have marketing campaigns that fail. Why are they unsuccessful, even if the product is good and the passion for the company is high? The lack of success correlates with the simple fact that your potential customers do not care about your story and passion; instead, they want solutions to their problems.
Successful marketing campaigns focus on two simple sentences:
1. “Our clients hire us to provide [insert benefits here.]”
2. “They hire us, rather than somebody else, because [insert unique feature of product/service that fits a customer’s need.]“
At the Heart of It
These sentences shift the focus of from you as a story/product to you as the catalyst that helps the customer reach their goals. You can practice this strategy and implement aspects of it immediately. Focus on writing and speaking about your company in this manner. Avoid simple descriptions of your passion for your product and shift the emphasis to results for your customers (i.e., an increase in sales; wider distribution of services; other benefits). The customer should not have to figure out what you can do for them; think from the customer’s perspective and create a message that engages the customer in how you can help them. Make the emphasis less on your story and more on the customer’s needs. The resulting messages will generate more interest than the passionate story you have about your business. Once you are in business the focus should be on the customer, not you!
Source: Inc
read moreBe Creative, Your Business Will Thank You
Today’s most powerful business leaders aren’t where they are because they rode the line. People like Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Warren Buffett got their riches by doing things differently. They were creative in their approach to seek out new business, motivate employees and lead their respective organizations. With the right strategy, decision-making skills and motivational leadership, any business owners can create successful ventures for themselves, too.
Be a Rock
One trait all exceptionally creative business leaders have is a clear sense of integrity. They are honest, fair and confident in their decisions. Warren Buffet once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and only five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently.” Running your business with honesty, openness and discipline will create the strong base you need to build an empire. Of course, it takes a whole lot more to take it there.
Always Be Learning
Good leaders must always stay hungry to learn, and motivate others through the process. No one wants to work for an arrogant leader who can’t admit mistakes, or accept better ideas than their own. Maintaining humility, and showing a willingness to take opinions from others, especially criticisms, will make your team more confident in you as a leader, and eager to follow you the growth of the organization.
Communication is Key
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, creative leaders have to be flexible and open in their communications with both clients and employees. Providing what people want, either from employers or out of a business transaction, can be the difference between average and extraordinary. This requires keeping open communication with your employees, keen negotiation skills and being a team player. Adopting and maintaining these traits will help you make the most out of any business venture.
Source: Strategic Business Team
read moreScammers Have the Real Secret to Getting People to “Click”
Scammers Have the Real Secret to
Getting People to “Click”
We intelligent business-owner-types can smell a scam a mile away. And yet, how many times did you STILL go ahead and click that button? The one that said, “Did you see this nasty picture of you on twitter?” or “How Rachel Ray lost 30 pounds in a month” or “Look who just unfriended you on FB”. How can seemy scammers get people to open mail, when we experts can’t?
How Do They Do It?
Aside from a lack of morals and taste (which accounts for some of it) in their strategies, they employ techniques that appeal to one of our basest behaviors – curiosity. Evidently, our curiosity overrides our common sense and knowledge, because we often go ahead and open that ad or email because it just might….have valuable information in it.
How Can WE Do It?
But THIS information IS useful. Curiosity gets things opened! We can use that information when designing our email subject lines, voicemail or email messages, initial conversations and sales presentations.
But WE Have Morals!
We don’t want to use Rachel Ray to get them to open one of our emails, however, so we need to put a little more thought into this….what are our customers or potential customers, curious about? For example, you could address industry-specific issues that similar businesses have in common. Then share it in a way that the title, subject line, presentation caption does not give the content away. They have to read it or stay tuned, to find out the answer!
If You Build It, They Will Come!
No, not the ghostly baseball team from field of dreams, but you get the idea. Think about the things that you are induced to open. Notice it from now on as you look through Twitter, your email inbox, your mail – and the ideas will come and ultimately, the sales.
What Online Scammers Know About Sales Prospecting that We Don’t in Social Media Today
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How To Create Effective Web Video
Communication Works Miracles, Not Video
Once we realize that nobody goes to a website to be impressed, or be entertained, the notion of using video takes a different path. As business owners, we become so obsessed with our own story that we forget the cardinal rules of advertising; what’s in it for me (WIIFM). If we can discipline our message or video script to answer the question “So What?”, then we might stand a chance that people will watch the video all the way through.
What’s the secret?
Keep thinking about that question, SO WHAT? You want to say “we’ve been in business for 20 years”. I say SO WHAT? It doesn’t mean that you can’t make that statement it means that you need to tell them how this directly benefits them as customers.
“We’ve been in business for 20 years, and that means we are good at making you more money.”
1st Measure – Video Production Value
Your video needs to be good enough to appear professional, but forget about trying to impress with fancy graphics, animations, and such. Stick with communication because people don’t go to websites like yours to be entertained. they want information.
2nd Measure – Script
The simple advice “keep it short” is correct but massively inadequate. It is not understated to say that the MOST critical part of your video is the script.But seriously keep it short.
3rd Measure – Talent
Let’s say you have a perfect script. If you don’t have great talent int he video, it is unforgivable to the viewer. You should hire the very best talent you can afford, whether it is as an actor or voice-over talent. Nothing screams unprofessional more than a person obviously reading a bad script.
Creating Your Video
Step 1 – Story Board. You can use powerpoint or word to match mock images to parts of the script.
Step 2 – Write the final script and then re-write it 25% shorter.
Step 3 – Hire a professional company to create the final product, unless your business creates professional corporate video regularly. If you DIY this project, you have wasted your time and money on something that will not convince or sell anybody.
read moreBetter Than Super Bowl Ads
Some Surprising Social Media Stats
Recent studies (IPSOS) show that most adult, non-senior Americans spend more than 3 hours per day on Social Networking activities. (self-reported) However, just a year ago Nielson ratings showed that the average American spent 5 hours a day watching Television. Since the number of hours a day is a zero sum game, it is obvious that Americans are either losing sleep time, work time or Television time to stay active in the Social Networks. In general, IPSOS showed that lower income, lower education individuals spent more time on Social Networking, while business owners and business decisions makers also spent more than the average time networking on Social Platforms. In comparisons between countries, emerging market countries averaged higher usage, with Indonesians peaking at an average of 6 hours per day, and at the other end, French and Spanish at an average of 2.3 hours.
Less Time For TV
This certainly has implications for both Search Engine Marketing and TV Ad spend and programming. We are seeing a shift from centralized information and entertainment to a distributed model. This de-centralized model has less “Big Stars”, and more ”Long Tail” choices. Chris Anderson’s book., “The Long Tail” pointed out that the old studio/record store model for music distribution didn’t keep many tracks alive due to a lack of profitable replication and distribution. Then Amazon, Rhapsody and iTunes came on the block and we realize that people have a much wider taste in music than the industry imagined.
Where Have All The Viewers Gone?
In regard to search engine use, people who used to spend time each day surfing Google results pages, are now turning more and more to stories, links and bookmarks shared by friends and even strangers in their Social reach. The same is likely to happen to online entertainment in comparison to broadcast entertainment. People in Social Media aren’t just having endless conversations; they are sharing entertainment in the form of video and music as well. The summary from this line of reasoning can only mean that the people we used to reach with broadcast media and search engine marketing are spending more and more time out of reach from those two signals. In order to reach these people we have to get our message out in that forum.
Social Media Stats From Marketing Charts
Your Own Super Bowl Ads
Since people are not watching TV in the same numbers, the millions spent by advertisers for the coveted spots during events like the Super Bowl will have less and less ROI. By the same token, your little viral video might win the jackpot and get the same number of views on youtube as a muti-million dollar ad during the Super Bowl.
The overall basic advice on making Viral Videos for posting online is to almost completely dump the concept of advertising your product in the video. You might ask how this will promote your product then. GOOD QUESTION. it just might only serve to bring traffic to your site for them to watch the video. Or maybe you will only mention your product in the last 2 seconds of the video. Either way, nobody is going to virally spread a product or sales video. That is a fact. If viewers can identify your product in the video then they will not send the link to anybody. Imagine how ridiculous a person would feel if they shared a link to a commercial for your product.
Categories For Viral Videos (taken from Entrepreneur)
- Funny
- Weird/quirky
- Cute
- Outrageous
- Poignant/insightful
- Inspirational
